Sourdough Lake

Difficulty: Moderate
Trip Type: Backpacking / Day Hike
Distance: ~3.3 miles from trailhead / 1.2 miles from Anvil Lake
Elevation: 9,584 feet
Coordinates: 45.11441, -109.96769
Time: ~1.5 hours from Anvil Lake
Access: Unmaintained off-trail navigation. ATV or off-road buggy required to reach the vehicle turnaround.
Bugs: Minimal (little to no bugs)

Getting there

Accessing this area requires navigating the rugged Goose Lake Jeep Trail. You will absolutely need an ATV, an off-road buggy, or a highly capable off-road vehicle. Your driving portion ends when you reach the vehicle turnaround near the Goose Creek waterfall area, which serves as your staging spot to park and shoulder your packs.

Be extremely cautious when parking your vehicle; local pine martens are highly active in this basin and are notorious for chewing on wires and cables underneath parked machines. Just before the trail ends near the falls, look for a hard right turn that points you north to begin the hike.

The hike

If you are traveling straight from the vehicle turnaround, the route to Sourdough Lake is 3.3 miles and involves 799 vertical feet of elevation gain. For hikers linking lakes together from the Anvil Lake basin, this destination sits roughly 1.2 miles past Anvil Lake. If you are tracking sequentially from the last water stop, Sourdough Lake is located just a short distance past Lake Aries.

The approach shares the initial steep, rigorous hill climb out of the Anvil basin. After navigating the unmaintained cross-country terrain up the ridge and clearing the slope near Lake Aries, the route continues slightly further north along the upper bench to arrive at the shores of Sourdough Lake.

Tips & safety

• Navigation: There are no maintained paths leading through this upper section. Complete cross-country route-finding is required to travel between the lakes on the bench.

• Weather: High-altitude mountain weather can turn fast here. Come fully prepared for sustained cold rain or sudden storms.

• Fishing: FWP and GNIS data listed for Brook Trout, but we didn't catch any fish.